


Lessons of Immortal Pain

by imapirahana98



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Andy hasn't lost her immortality yet, Blood and Injury, Canon Temporary Character Death, Disregard of MCU and The Old Guard Canon, I just forgot some plot points, M/M, not on purpose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:53:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26667769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imapirahana98/pseuds/imapirahana98
Summary: Steve and Bucky were on a mission deep in the Democratic Republic of the Congo when they stumble upon another group with the same mission as them.They are all taken by surprise when the human traffickers they are targeting open fire on them. Bucky and Steve take shelter behind Steve's shield and Bucky's arm, but the others aren't so lucky.With gunshot wounds and no way to overpower the rest of the guards, Steve and Bucky give up hope on surviving this mission. But impossible movement from the other group might save them in the end.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 3
Kudos: 165





	Lessons of Immortal Pain

Steve and Bucky were on a mission deep in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A small group of graduate students studying photoautotrophic fossils potentially left behind by aliens were abducted by a human trafficking group. It just so happened to be the same human trafficking group that had been targeting and ubducting school children. 

Bucky grunted as he was hit in the face ~again~ by a thorny branch. Bushwhacking was tiring, and both of them were nearing their patients limit as they tried to undetectably approach the traffickers stronghold.

Bucky speaks up quietly, “When we reach that stupid stronghold I’m going to thoroughly enjoy kicking their asses.”

“Agreed.” Steve replies, angrily slapping another mosquito away.

Hours later, they finally reach their destination as the sun sinks below the horizon. Bucky sets up his sniper rifle, both of them getting comfortable as they wait for the night to fully set in. While they wait, they eat dinner, quietly talking back and forth. Enjoying the small break before the raid.

Once they’re done, Bucky sets up in earnest and Steve sits back double checking his shield and knives. Bucky had insisted on teaching him how to use knives and Steve was surprisingly good at them now. It certainly surprised the people they faced on missions when Captain America suddenly started knife fighting instead of bashing their heads in with his shield.

Steve sees the two groups of security guards Bucky is targeting walk around their respective corners. With four quick shots, all the guards are dead on the ground.

Bucky sits up, putting the safety on and slinging the rifle across his back.

“Ready?” Steve asks, standing up.

“Yeah, lets go.”

They both approach the tall barbed wire gates. Steve pulls out one of his knives, pressing a button on the hilt to make the edge of it glow a hot orange. A gift from Tony for his last birthday. He presses the knife to the metal and cuts a hole for them to slip through. 

The building is a low one story, with basements where the traffickers keep their victims. Steve takes point while Bucky covers his back as they slowly make their way through the facility. They quickly and quietly dispose of anyone they come across, trying to maintain the element of surprise.

When they reach the main room where their maps show an access door to the basements, they hear feet shuffling down the opposite corridor, coming in the same direction as them. Steve quickly slips into the room taking a defensive stance in the corner opposite the staircase and the doorway they just came through. Bucky joins him, handguns trained at the open doorway.

A figure comes around the corner, bloodied axe in hand. Sharp eyes meeting theirs across the room. She tilts her head with an expression of confusion as she takes them in.

She holds up the handgun in her other hand, aiming for Steve's head as four others swiftly move into the room behind her. She shoots twice, both times bouncing off of Steve's shield before the sudden sound of a LOT of safeties being clicked off filters into the room.

Steve whips his head around, hunching behind his shield even more.

From the stairwell, a hail of bullets starts raining down on all of them. Steve and Bucky hide together in the corner behind Steve's shield and Bucky's arm. They grunt through clenched teeth when a bullet slips through and grazes or hits.

The other group that had come in were not so lucky. The bullets that hit them were excessive, their bodies dropping dead to the floor, bodies riddled with gunshots. 

Finally after what felt like an endless hail of bullets there was a pause. Bullet casings rained down to the floor, brass clinking sharply.

Steve breathed through the pain, trying to stay focused and figure out a plan on how to get out of here alive with at least five bullet wounds.

Behind him, he could hear Bucky breathing sharply too. The main indication that he had been hit as well. 

As magazines clicked into place, Steve surged forward, hoping to take out most of the human traffickers before they could finish reloading. Steve threw his shield, hitting three in the head, knocking them out. 

Knives and bullets flew past him, as Bucky joined in on the fight. Steve caught his shield, just in time for the remaining traffickers to start shooting again. There were still ten left after the ones he and Bucky had taken out. Another bullet lodged into his side, and Steve dropped to his knees, turtling behind his shield as he breathed hard. He heard Bucky get hit again too, and had to resist turning to make sure he was ok.

He was most definitely not ok. Neither was Steve.

Even if they did manage to take out the rest of the traffickers with so many bullet wounds, they would pass out from blood loss before they could reach the bottom of the stairs or exits.

Resigned to meet his fate, he turned to look at Bucky one last time. Meeting his blue eyes that were screwed up in pain. Bucky had come to the same conclusion as Steve, he could see it in his eyes. 

Over the sound of gunshots he heard Bucky say, “End of the line. Finally together.”

Steve grinned grimly. It was ridiculous, but at least they really would reach the end of the line together.

Just as he was about to respond, he saw movement behind Bucky. Steve turned to look and realized that he may have lost more blood than he originally had thought.

Phantoms soldiers covered in blood ran forward and attacked the traffickers with a vengeance. The same group Steve had thought to have surely been dead. He saw an axe swing, deeply embedding into the neck and shoulder joint of a trafficker. Swords flashed as they passed in and out of bodies. Handguns were wielded like a perverted death version of Midas’s golden touch. 

Steve had never seen anything like it. He had fought so many battles, against so many soldiers and he felt like a child as he watched their grace and ferociousness. Was this Death, finally coming to claim? He didn’t know, but he felt Bucky’s hand slip into his as blackness claimed both of them.

\-----

“---They’re healing?!”

“What do you mean they’re healing?”

“I mean, look at their legs! The bullets are still in there, but the bleeding has stopped already. They look smaller than normal bullet wounds right?”

“How is that possible?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, get them in the truck with the children. Bind their hands just in case, but I think they were here for the same reason as us. If they live, I’m sure we all have a lot to discuss.”

\-----

Steve woke in pain. His legs felt like they were on fire. He tried to move them, but shooting pain lanced through his body, stealing his breath and making him stop.

“Ouch, it hurt to just look at your face right now.” A voice said. “Maybe try not to move. We’re getting you both some morphine as it seems you don’t heal quite as fast as the rest of us.”

Steve couldn’t open his eyes; he was in so much pain. The morphine would at least slightly dull it… if he could take all of it once. 

What felt like eons later, but was probably just a few minutes, he felt the cool fire of morphine burn through his veins. Somehow at a high enough dose to take away the worst of the pain. Slowly he opened his eyes to a dimly lit, dusty room. He hadn’t realized it before, but Bucky was lying next to him, still unconscious thankfully. Steve looked over to the person adjusting a large IV bag filled with the morphine.

It was a light skinned man with green-blue eyes, a strong nose, and a jawline that marble statues tried to replicate.

“How are you feeling?” The man asked in accented English. 

Steve tried to speak, but ended up just groaning in response. The man’s eyes furrowed, checking the IV line again as he said, “I’m already giving you the maximum safe dose. You shouldn’t be able to feel your own toes right now.”

Steve managed to get out, “More. Please.”

Thankfully the man complied, allowing more sweet morphine to dull his pain.

Relieved, Steve said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’m going to get your friend hooked up to a line as well.” 

“Okay.” Steve slurred back.

With his pain dulled, Steve slipped back into unconsciousness. 

\-----

Much later, Steve woke to the sound of Bucky’s voice talking to the same man as before.

“---we’re not immortal. Why would you think that?” Bucky asked.

There was a long pause until Bucky spoke, “... because you’re immortal.”

Abruptly, the IV man said, “Why don’t you rest. We can talk more about this later.”

Bucky replied, “I feel fine since you got the bullets out, and besides Steve’s awake now too.”

Steve took that as his cue to actually open his eyes. His legs didn’t feel like they were on fire anymore, and the only pain he felt was a low thrum in the background. The world still felt a little swirly, so that meant he was still on morphine for the time being. As Steve focused on Bucky and the man sitting in a chair across from them both, he saw that Bucky was sitting up in the bed they shared, eating Baklava of all things.

The man sighed, standing from his chair. “Well since you’re both up, I’ll get the rest of the team.” He met Steve’s eyes, “I’ll get something for you to eat too.”

The man left, and Bucky turned to him. “Hey, you feeling ok?”

“Yeah, how about you? Do you know what happened?”

Bucky took a bite out of his Baklava before replying, “I’m doing ok. They have us on the good stuff, and somehow have enough of it to keep up with our metabolisms. They got the bullets out of us once they realized we weren’t really healing properly because of them. I’m still trying to figure out the whole story, but what I’ve learned is that they brought us here after they realized we weren’t dead yet. Nicky, the man who has been taking care of us, said they took the children and grad students to the Peace Corps workers who had hired them. What I still can’t figure out is how they or we are alive. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we’re here together, but we really should be dead. If this is the afterlife, I guess it’s a good thing that I get to spend eternity with you in bed.” Bucky winked at him at the end. Welp if Steve didn’t die before, maybe he would from sappiness or blood loss to his cheeks from blushing too much.

“Well I’m glad we’re together too.” Steve says, resting his head on Bucky’s thigh.

Nicky returns, with the four others joining them. They all seem to pause for a moment taking in how Steve and Bucky are relaxing, before moving forward and taking seats. It’s only too late that Steve realizes he probably should have moved his head before they returned. 

Nicky must have changed to something stronger than morphine because Steve was not thinking straight. (Well… he never thought straight but that’s besides the point.)

Nicky hands Steve a plate of the same baklava Bucky was eating, and Steve's mind turns to food immediately. He has priorities ok? He eats slowly at first, taking a small bite. The sweet flavors combined with the flaky dough make him realize just how hungry he is, and he picks up the pace.

The woman who seemed to be the leader of their group spoke up, “So, it seems we have some sharing to do. Nicky said that you claimed not to be immortals, yet you heal nearly as fast as one would.”

Bucky hums, before replying, “We are not immortal, as you all seem to be.”

The woman speaks again, “I am Andy. What you saw was-”

“What we saw was all of you dying and then somehow coming back to life with not a scratch on you.” Bucky interrupts. “We should all be dead.”

Andy purses her lips.

Another man speaks up, “You have learned what we are, now please tell us what you are.”

Bucky doesn’t say anything, probably wanting to keep their enhancements a secret in case it comes down to a fight. But Steve saw how they fought at the traffickers. Steve and Bucky are great fighters, but the immortals could kill them twice over before they even got out of bed.

Steve finally speaks, “We are enhanced. Our strength, healing, and speed are far better than an average person. Nothing compared to all of your healing ability though.”

Steve had tried to leave out at least a little of their abilities. Hopefully that appeases both Bucky and the immortals.

Andy speaks once more, “Enhanced humans? I thought the Captain America myth was made up. Apparently not.”

Steve inclines his head, “It was a bit of a myth in the beginning but I was the first; used more to sell war bonds rather than actually fight. Once I made it to the front I broke orders and went AWOL to get Bucky when I learned he had been captured. Turns out, they had been experimenting on him too, to create a super soldier that could rival me.”

Nicky and a dark skinned man exchanged looks. “Azzano?” the man asked. 

Nicky nods, “Yes.”

Turning to them Nicky says, “As I’m sure you are both aware, there were others at Azzano being experimented on. Joe and I were there too. The doctor had a particularly morbid interest in us. It...is not something I like to remember.” 

“Agreed.” Bucky says.

Nicky continues, “We didn’t know until later what had happened, but one day all the alarms went off and we could hear screaming and explosions outside. No one knew we were there and no one came to get us. When the factory exploded we died and came back in piles of smoking shrapnel. I’m glad we can finally thank the one who stopped those experiments.”

Joe agrees, “Yes, thank you.”

Steve finds it hard to meet their gazes as he says, “I didn’t know anyone else was left. I’m sorry that I didn’t free you myself.”

“It is not your fault. We were hidden in a room off the side of his office, and the doctor never spoke of us. There was no way for you to know.” Nicky reassures. 

“Still I’m sorry. I’m glad you got out at the least.”

“Thank you. I think it would be best for you both to rest more now. Your bodies are still healing.” Nicky says.

The rest of the immortals seem to take that as their que to leave and walk out of the room.

Nicky checks their IVs again, before collecting the now empty Baklava plates and leaving too.

Steve cuddles into Bucky, feeling drowsiness set in earnest. 

“Night Buck.” He murmurs, “I’m glad you’re with me still.”

“Night.” Bucky whispers back. “Me too.”

\-----

Days later, Steve asks Andy, “Can you please teach me how to use a sword?” 

Andy scrutinizes him before shrugging and answering, “Sure, Nile needs an easier opponent to spar with anyways.”

Steve is used to challenging sparring sessions from training with Natasha, Bucky, and many of the other Avengers. But by the time he’s done training with Nile, he doesn’t want to move for a whole week.

“Wow.” Nile says. “I thought I wasn’t learning how to use a sword very well, but I guess I got used to fighting against people that were much better than me.”

“You are very good at what you do.” Steve replies from his place on the ground. “I can’t believe you’re only 26 years old. That’s actually younger than me.”

Nile laughs, from where she’s putting her sword away. “I’ve got very good and very strict teachers.”

Steve chuckles, taking a moment to breathe as Nile goes to cool down. From his spot on the ground, he can see Bucky comparing knives with Joe and Nicky, debating throwing technique and blade design. Maybe he should just join Bucky from now on instead. He does have the knife from Tony that they would probably enjoy looking at.

Steve gets up with a groan, walking over to join where they are all huddled together. “I’m never doing that again.” He declares, dropping his head on Bucky’s shoulder from behind. 

Bucky pats his head in sympathy, mostly ignoring him as he keeps debating throwing techniques.

Steve interrupts them briefly (They’ve been debating for hours), “Buck you should show them my laser knife.”

“Laser knife?” Joe asks, intrigued.

Bucky grins, “Oh you guys are going to love this! Hold on I’ll be right back. Steve move for a sec so I can go get it.”

Steve moves, opting to lean against the wall instead.

They watch as Bucky runs to go get it, no doubt getting the rest of their knives to show off as well. 

“It’s nice to see you two together so openly.” Nickys says, “It took far too many centuries for Joe and I to show affection in public.”

Steve looks over meeting their gazes, “I think Bucky and I just got to the point of not caring. We’ve seen and been through so much. At this point, we take happiness and comfort wherever we can, because we know it doesn’t last long.”

Nicky smiles back gently, “I understand. That is very similar to how Joe and I feel, but happiness and comfort can last much longer than you seem to think. Joe and I choose to help, because it is the right thing and we do it for the right reasons.”

“That’s why we do it too.” Steve agrees.

“That may be true, but if it is at the cost of your own peace, then what is the point of living.” Nickys says knowingly.

Steve’s not quite sure how to respond to that. He can barely wrap his head around how old they are, yet Nicky’s words carry the weight of experience and wisdom gained through hardship.

At his silence, Joe speaks up, “You can still fight when you truly feel like you must, but it is important to also rest.”

Steve sighs deeply, “I get what you’re saying, really I do, but there are always people that need help. I died thinking that I would help to end the war and the suffering it caused, but one of the first things I was told when I woke up was that the world needed my help again. So I helped. I don’t understand how I can keep going like this, but I also know that there are still battles to be fought. How can you not lose hope in all of this? You try to help and do the right thing, but nothing seems to really get better.”

After putting away her own sword, Andy had walked over joining them, listening as Steve continued.

“The earth is dying, innocent people are dying, and no one seems to care. I save one person, and the next day someone walks into a school and kills as many kids as they can. I stop an alien invasion, and ten years later there are shopping sales instead of times to mourn on the day it happened. Honestly, I want to stop fighting. I want to go lay on a beach with Bucky and forget about the world, but I just don’t know how I could ever relax when there are still so many issues to fix. And I don’t know how to keep going when everything I do seems not to matter.” 

After Steve finishes, he feels almost relieved. He had never told anyone besides Bucky of his thoughts, but if anyone could understand him, it was these immortals.

“I felt the same way for years.” Andys says. “You work your mind and body to the point of death to help people, to put an end to violence, and it's only a few years later that you see the same thing happen again but worse. But, recently I was shown what saving those few people actually does. You save one person from a drug trafficking ring, and they make it their life's mission to prevent that from happening to anyone else. You stop aliens from overrunning the Earth, and who knows how many people go on to help limit the worst effects of climate change, or become doctors, or go on to help others in their own way. There will always be bad people, but without us humanity would be far worse off. We just don’t know it, because we can’t see it from where we stand. You should meet the person who taught me this. It might help you understand the good you have done, and know that you can take a break because there will always be someone else willing to step up and help.”

Feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, Steve replies, “I really needed to hear that. I hope I can get to where you are one day, maybe meeting your friend would help. Thank you.” 

As Bucky returns grinning, arms full of knives, Steve thinks that he might be able to take a break sooner than he thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Any comments or constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!
> 
> Sorry for forgetting that Andy had lost her immortality (one of the biggest plot points of the movie, great job me), but in this fic she still has it for now. 
> 
> Also I like the idea of Tony just giving Bucky and Steve increasingly complex knives as his way of showing friendship.


End file.
